Are there any interviews (either transcripts or audio) of Lindsey or other members talking about the "Mirage" album?

Some random quotes from LINDSEY:

Buckingham has been referring to Mirage as a "a reconciliation of opposites" from the time of the first sessions. "There are some aspects of Tusk and some aspects of Rumours," he explains, but Mirage is a much more of a band album than Tusk was.

“Mick would say to me, "Well we went too far, you blew it." And it was very hurtful. We were out on the road and I'm going, "Oh my god, how am I gonna react to this?" So, the Mirage album...there was a direct correlation between that pressure and that album."

“By the time we finished that tour [Tusk], there was a bit of a backlash within the band.... It took a bit of the wind out of my sails creatively. And so you get to the Mirage time and I'm sort of going, "Ah well, I don't know. What are we ...what do you want to do?"....I was almost withdrawing from the responsibility of writing at that time and it was all out of a sense of sort of having given up the ghost a little bit. [Oh Diane?] I hate that. I mean, it's such a cliché. That album has a lot of fairly generic music on it, for me. There's a couple of good things on there, but it's probably my least favorite."

“[M]irage was in my eyes a very reactionary album. The group's collective will dictated that we return to a slightly more conservative format. I don't think we can ever go back to the kind of spirit or eclectic mood that was created on the Tusk album. I don't think the other members of the group would want that and I don't think that's my place to impose it on them.""

“I think we've done a really good job with Tango. I would be more than happy to leave (the band) on this note. I couldn't say that about Mirage. That was a very ambiguous piece of work to me, and after we toured with that album, there were a lot of loose ends in the group emotionally, financially and otherwise.”

"'Tusk,' the album that followed 'Rumours,' was a brazen act of rebellion for which I took a lot of flak," he said. "Because of that, the 'Mirage' album, was, in my mind, a reactionary piece of work that tried to reprise 'Rumours' and had very little vision. When the group left the road after the 'Mirage' tour, there were many issues left unresolved.

“I think the real need to do a record 5 years after the last one came from…when we did the Mirage album and tour, a lot of things had been left hanging out on a limb – emotional things and even financial things."

“The most disappointing thing to me after Tusk was the politics in the band,” Buckingham admits today. “They said, ‘We’re not going to do that again.’ I felt dead in the water from that. On Mirage, I was treading water, saying, ‘Okay, whatever,’ and taking a passive role. For me, none of the albums after Tusk quite had it. I think we lost something after that.”

And one from CHRISTINE:

“Mirage was an attempt to get back into the flow that Rumours had. But we missed a vital ingredient. That was the passion,” she confesses bluntly.

The Tusk album was the result of a certain process, the result of my songs being the radical departure and evolving into a different concept of recording, which was basically me at home recording all the instruments. On the Mirage album, that was something I didn't really want to impose on the group because I had done that on one album and though it succeeded on Tusk, it was not enough of a community effort. Now I have a solo album and a solo deal. I can go ahead and pursue that process on my own without imposing it on the group.

During his TITN press:

Quote:

I would not have wanted to leave the group on the ambiguous note that Mirage sounded. There were lots of things left hanging out on limbs: finances, emotions. I think there was also some pride at stake. This band has done some remarkable things and Mirage was no way for it to say goodbye. I think we had something to prove and we did it in the new album. So now it feels like the time.

Quote:

I think the Mirage album was not a very positive way to leave Fleetwood Mac. We did the tour, but it was an ambiguous album. It was not an album of vision. It left a lot of things dangling. And, for me, this album took a lot of the emotions or the finances or whatever realm you want to get into, and tied it all up in a nice, strong package. I wouldn’t have wanted to leave the Fleetwood Mac situation - none of us would - with the Mirage album. And I may be wrong; I may be talking up my ‘arse’ here. But right now, you’re right: I don’t know why anyone would want to keep going with just one thing the rest of their lives when there’s other things to delve into and to try.

Quote:

"I was kind of just drifting through Mirage, myself. I didn't know why we were doing it or what we were doing, really. It was sort of reactionary. That's the way I felt about it."

In the last year or so, we've sorted our a lot of our personal differences..the breakups and all that kind of thing within the band and the emotional situations, and we had a lot of fun making this album. I think you can tell that when you listen to it. But we were dumbfounded, you could say, with the success it's had. Rumours and Tusk had a massive amount of success, of course, but they didn't seem to get to the top of the charts quite so quickly.

Mick promoting Mirage:

Quote:

"I think coming back to Mirage it had alot to do with starting with Tusk and going through the solo albums. I think this album is much more integrated as a band. If Lindsey was here he would be the first to say that he was really trying to do something with Fleetwood Mac that wasn't particularly natural. I'm not discounting the stuff he's done on Tusk at all because I think it's marvelous. But in terms of -- he's now more aware of working with the tools he's got. Rather than feeling frustrated, he feels very very at ease with the way we approached working on Mirage. If he hadn't of done a solo album I don't think that would have happened."

Stevie. I remember her talking about leaving Smile At You off of the album before it was released. She said that Lindsey wanted to put something more positive on it. After Mirage she said:

Quote:

Sometimes I wish the industry would just go away and leave us alone. We haven't broken up yet. Our worst album, Mirage, wasn't exactly a complete bomb. It still sold millions of records.

If Lindsey was feeling so passive around the time of Mirage, I wish he would have let Stevie have one more track: "Smile At You." That take certainly didn't lack the passion he and Christine were apparently feeling at the time.

I love Mirage and would love to have a remaster. It contains "Gypsy," which is in my top 5 songs of all time. Stevie's "That's Alright" and "Straight Back" are great too.

I think Lindsey sounds adventurous enough on four quirky songs I really enjoy: "Can't Go Back," "Book of Love," "Empire State" (yes I said it), and "Eyes of the World."

Christine contributed two fine singles "Love In Store" and "Hold Me" (though I've always felt like the latter could have used an extra verse or something).

The only bland spots for me were Christine's "Only Over You" and "Wish You Were Here" (but they're okay).

1982 was probably one of the better years in my appreciation of 80s music because synthesizers and drum machines weren't decade-defining technology yet.

"Tango" has aged okay, but a lot of it sounds very much like a reaction to the technology of the time (is that why you left the single version of "Big Love" off "The Very Best" complication, Lindsey? Cuz the oohs and aahs are a little embarrassing now?). A lot of it sounds like pure solo Lindsey, cuz it actually is.

Thanks to those who have provided links and quotes. Mirage was my introduction to the band, so I have a soft spot for it -- but I also think it's a terrific and underrated piece of work. Coming after the big commercial ambitions of Rumours and the artsy experimentalism of Tusk, I actually think the deliberately "small" sound of Mirage was a great next move. I'd really love to know if that "smallness" was what they were aiming for and a deliberate production choice, or if it was just happenstance. I asked Richard Dashut on his blog, but didn't see a response.

I'm not a fan of "Smile at You," either the one Mirage era version I've heard or especially the awful arrangement on Say You Will, but if someone knows of a well-produced version I should hear, I'm open to learning to appreciate it.

Gypsy, Hold Me, That's Alright, Empire State, Straight Back, Love in Store, Book of Love, Eyes of the Wo... Okay, all of them.

I wish they would have done That's Alright on the Mirage tour and/or any tour after that. It's such a great Fleetwood Mac song. Each member has their distinct instrument part and the signature trio harmony on the chorus is perfect. It's a short song too, it would have fit right in to the set on the Mirage tour.

Based on the things Lindsey, Stevie and Christine say about Mirage, I can see why they never play anything more than "Gypsy" and "Eyes of the World" on stage. They really dislike this album, as well as most of the public.

Yes Mirage was reactionary from the public thrashing from Tusk. As Mick says...the band wanted to do something more "classic Fleetwood Mac."
It is a very musically safe album. But it holds up well. It went to #1 something Tusk never did. It was also important to hit #1 since Stevie's first solo album just went to #1 too. The criticism of the album was it was too soft rock. For the first time rock stations were not playing the new Fleetwood Mac album.

But here is why Mirage is a favorite of mine.

The album opens with Love in Store. Talk about classic Fleetwood Mac. The harmonies on Love in Store are probably the most profound of any Mac song ever. That's Alright is such a classic song that almost translates full country. Stevie's voice is so strong on it and I love that it was an old Buckingham Nicks era written song. Hold me is the ultimate pop song. So catchy and the lyrics melt together perfectly. I love the percussion part at the end. Amazing! Only Over you is such a classic McVie love song. So mystical and magic. Empire State is Lindsey still fighting to bring Tusk edgy songs along. Good song. Straight Back is probably the top 5 favorite Mac songs for me. Lyrics 10 Music 10 Vocals 10. I love Chris backing Stevie "like a wolf on the run." It still gives me goose bumps! Eyes of the world finally we get to hear some guitar on Mirage. Too bad it was so short though. Gypsy is probably the most classic Mac song ever. The band is really at its best especially Lindsey on guitar. Oh Diane is catchy and a safe Lindsey song. I love how the album closes with Wish you were here. I don't think the song is written by Christine but you know how much she loved the song to play it. Ahhhh what classic piano at the beginning!

I love the album cover and think Stevie and Chris were at their peak beauty. The Mirage tour was short but I think their set list was the best ever. The band sounded amazing and it truly was an end of an era!

Based on the things Lindsey, Stevie and Christine say about Mirage, I can see why they never play anything more than "Gypsy" and "Eyes of the World" on stage. They really dislike this album, as well as most of the public.

I guess I'm not a part of the public that you say dislikes the album because I love it.

I guess I'm not a part of the public that you say dislikes the album because I love it.

I love the album too. Though it's not as diverse as Tusk, or as epic as Rumours, it's still a vital part of their discography. Mirage has great pop songs, with a pleasant, albeit, more light-weight approach, which is not a bad thing. It's a fun and easy listening album, and a brief a relief from excessive emotional weight.

The Mirage tour was short but I think their set list was the best ever. The band sounded amazing and it truly was an end of an era!

LOVE LOVE LOVE me some Mirage!

The first time I attended a Fleetwood Mac show was on the Mirage tour. I'll never forget it, because the show was so overwhelmingly fantastic. Great set list, with lots of raw energy and excitement. I'm so glad I got the chance to see them in their purest form. It was the end of that era.

The first time I attended a Fleetwood Mac show was on the Mirage tour. I'll never forget it, because the show was so overwhelmingly fantastic. Great set list, with lots of raw energy and excitement. I'm so glad I got the chance to see them in their purest form. It was the end of that era.

Lucky you. The Mirage tour was great for many reasons. But there was so much tension too. I think that tension led to great performances. To only agree to 18 shows. Stevie's best friend passed away during the tour. No doubt there was jealousy toward Stevie (mostly from Lindsey) about Bella Donna success. Christine had her own record scheduled. Stevie was already working on Wild Heart. But with all that drama I think Stevie's voice and performance was at it's peak (thus speaking in tongues during Sisters of the Moon).
This also was probably the last tour where drugs were not making a huge impact on Stevie's live performances. Her voice was a bit fried during some songs in some cities but for the most part her voice was strong its just that she was weak emotionally because of Robin. But that vulnerability in her performances made them more special IMHO.
I saw Stevie on Wild Heart and drugs were definitely starting to affect her live performances. It did not help that Joe Walsh was touring with her to feed that frenzy. Joe was later quoted that if they did not break up they would have both died of an overdose.
So while everyone was still high during Mirage (Chris says she stopped after Mirage and when she did her own album) it was not affecting the live performances.